This feature article from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Earth Observatory discusses the use of satellite imagery to evaluate desertification which is occurring in the Sahel, a region of central African savannah that forms the boundary between the Sahara Desert to the north and the wetter, more fertile regions to the south. Topics include the use of Very High Resolution Radiometer (VHRR) data, obtained from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) meteorological satellites, to develop a vegetation index, and exactly how the term 'desertification' should be defined in order to distinguish temporarily degraded land from that which has permanently lost productivity.

The students will be able to identify questions and concepts that guide scientific investigations, recognize and analyze alternative explanations and models by the end of this activity.

This text explores a few of the many concepts that frequently come up in the study of Earth systems and global climate change. Students will be exposed to many problems involving unit conversion. Global climate change reports involve terms such as kilowatt-hour, megawatt-hour, and gigawatt-hour, as well as megatons and gigatons. Students will become versed in converting units where appropriate, and through the calculations, will work with the concept of significant figures. Creating linear equations from graphical and tabular information is covered, as well as forecasting. The text is meant to be used as a companion to standard Earth science and mathematics courses, and presents enough application problems to allow students to quantitatively understand typical media reports about global climate change.

Build a realistic model of the Earth using sunlight as a reference to understand phenomena related to the position of the Earth with respect to the Sun.

Photo of the Earth & Moon created from images from the the Galileo spacecraft.

The study of clouds (where they occur, their characteristics, etc) plays a key role in the understanding of climate change. This site discusses how the relative thickness and altitude of various cloud types result in their either reflecting solar radiation or transmitting and trapping it, thereby warming Earth's surface. It features text, a scientific illustration, and links to other relevant topics and datasets.

This Earth Observatory site contains data and images from NASA's Earth Observatory project. The purpose of NASA's Earth Observatory is to provide an accessible publication on the Internet where the public can obtain new satellite imagery and scientific information about our home planet. The focus is on Earth's climate and environmental change. The site is useful to public media and educators. Data and images can be obtained for a variety of subjects, the Earth's atmosphere, land, life on earth, oceans and heat and energy. Users can enter data on a variety of topics and produce animations depicting the data entered. The site also contains a helpful section explaining how to build animations and globe animations.

The Earth Observatory Glossary defines words from space science, ecology and Earth science. It is part of the NASA Earth Observatory site, which provides new satellite imagery and scientific information about Earth with a focus on climate and environmental change. The new glossary mode allows users to browse the Earth Observatory site with special terms highlighted that, when selected, will take you to the appropriate entry in the glossary.

Students will explore the relationships and patterns among the Earth, Sun, and Moon system in our solar system. Students will design, build, and test a model of a lunar rover.

In this activity, students use a paper plate to build a model that shows why lunar eclipses don’t happen during every full moon.

"A web portal with comprehensible information on Einstein's theories of relativity and their most exciting applications from the smallest particles to cosmology."

Use the tabs along the menu at the top to find what you need from beginner to more in-depth info.

80+ Free Science Activities to Entertain your Kids in the following areas:
BIOLOGY ACTIVITIES
EARTH SCIENCE AND ASTRONOMY ACTIVITIES
CHEMISTRY ACTIVITIES
PHYSICS ACTIVITIES
FREE SCIENCE GAME PACKETS
SCIENCE ACTIVITY ROUND-UPS
SCIENCE PLUS

In our latest NOVA Lab, we’ve created a game that invites students to join in the fun, and trains them to use the very same techniques that scientists use every day in the hunt for exoplanets. Here’s a quick preview:

To start, players watch a brief mission intro video that sets the scene for the game: They’ve been selected to be the lead scientist for the NOVA Space Center’s Galactic Resettlement team, with the job of finding suitable exoplanets for displaced aliens desperately seeking new homes.

Once players arrive at the Lunar base, they start with a training module that explains how the search for habitable exoplanets begins in our own solar system. A series of videos and simulation tools helps them understand the conditions that make Earth so conducive to life – clues about what to look for in other, distant star systems in our Milky Way galaxy.

The ocean and atmosphere each react to changes in the other. These reactions and counter-reactions can snowball until the system builds to a point where potentially disastrous effects occur, such as the El Nino events of 1982-83 and 1997-98. This site describes how the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's TOPEX-Poseidon satellite was used to monitor the amount of sea level rise in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, and consequently the amount of heat stored in the water. Sea level and temperature data from TOPEX-Poseidon was used successfully to predict the 1997-98 El Nino event earlier than ever before. It features text, remotely-sensed imagery and a link to JPL's Physical Oceanography website.

"The Core Knowledge Foundation provides open access to content-rich curriculum materials for preschool through grade 8, including the Core Knowledge Curriculum Series™, with many materials now available and many more in development."

You will need to provide your email address to download these amazing resources. CK has aligned their ELA to the Science of Reading in collaboration with Amplify Reading.
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Forest fires, brush fires, and slash and burn agriculture are a significant force for environmental change. Remote sensing of fires, smoke and burn scars allows for improved detection of fire characteristics as well as their short- and long-term effects on ecosystems. This site from NASA's Earth Observatory discusses the importance of fires, trace gases emissions, aerosol emissions, and NASA and NOAA missions for monitoring global fires. Case studies and data sets are also available.

This article provides a brief discussion of the issues surrounding global warming. Topics include greenhouse gas emissions, the possible consequences of global warming, and debates among proponents and opponents about whether global warming is indeed happening and whether it represents a danger to the planet.

Move the Sun, Earth, Moon and space station to see how it affects their gravitational forces and orbital paths. Visualize the sizes and distances between different heavenly bodies, and turn off gravity to see what would happen without it!

Move the sun, earth, moon and space station to see how it affects their gravitational forces and orbital paths. Visualize the sizes and distances between different heavenly bodies, and turn off gravity to see what would happen without it!